Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death in absentia by a Dhaka court for crimes against humanity over last year’s deadly crackdown on student-led riots, the Guardian reported.
A three-judge panel at the country’s International Crimes Tribunal found Hasina guilty of inciting atrocities, ordering a killing, and inaction while overseeing last year’s crackdown on anti-government protesters.
“The accused prime minister committed crimes against humanity by ordering the use of drones, helicopters and deadly weapons against civilians,” Judge Gholam Mortuza Mozumder read out the verdict in court.
Hasina has pleaded not guilty to the charges, calling the court a “politically motivated show.”
The court, which lasted several months, sentenced Hasina in absentia. Since fleeing the country in August last year, Hasina has lived in exile in neighboring India, where the Indian government has ignored requests to extradite her to face trial.